Bulakna (Portugal, France, 2025, 93′)

Saturday, October 10, 3:00 p.m., Cinema Massimo, Theater 3

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Italian subtitles / English subtitles

International title: Bulanka
Original title: Bulanka
Director: Leonor Noivo
Photography: Vasco Saltão
Edit: Francisco Moreira, Pedro Teixeira, Marine de Contes, Telmo Churro, Vasco Saltão, Luísa Homem
Sound: Vicente Molder, RM Aborque
Production: Terratreme Filmes

The name of an ancient Pilipino warrior who resisted colonial invasion gives the title to Leonor Noivo’s debut film. In a seaside village, life moves to the rhythm of fishing. But the dream of many women is to leave the Philippines to find a job abroad. However, it is essential to be careful with fake agencies that swindle people. While days slowly go by, the dilemma of whether to stay or leave begins to take hold, before a decision which has the shape of a new kind of colonization: the forced migration to find employment.

To add a more layered dimension, the director introduces fictional scenes and others taken from a theatrical production also exploring the theme of Spanish colonization. What emerges is a film that follows people waiting to migrate – showing what happens beforehand and is rarely brought to light – and accompanies them right up to their departure at the airport.

Leonor Noivo. Portuguese director and screenwriter, she studied architecture and photography before joining the Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema of Lisbon in 1997 where she specialized in editing and directing. Since 1999, she has worked as an assistant director for numerous Portuguese filmmakers including João Pedro Rodrigues, João Botelho and João Salaviza. In 2006, she attended the Ateliers Varan documentary workshop at the Fundação Calouste Gulbekian. In 2008, she co-founded the production company Terratreme Filmes. She produced both fiction films and documentaries.

Partial filmography: Salitre (sf, 2005), Excursion (sf, doc., 2007), Later Day Saints (mlf, doc., 2009), Other Letters or The Invented Love (mlf, doc., 2012), September (mlf, 2016), All I Imagine (mlf, doc., 2017), Raposa (mlf, doc., 2019), Madrugada (sf, 2021), Bulakna (doc., 2025).